# NewsFlash! Pill Reduces Women's Sex Drive (but it's okay, we didn't need one anyway) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 16, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871 "2003-07-16T13:19:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/21 "2003-07-16T18:20:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*You know, lesbians don’t need birth control. > > need that fuckin’ toaster… \*\* You know, we bisexuals only got a 2-slice toaster as opposed to you _real_ gays who got the whole shebam 4-slice toaster with the really good controls. That’s really unfair. As far as the Pill and my sex drive, I haven’t really noticed much but that’s probably because we only see each other once a month and by the time we get together, we’re ready to jump each other’s bones. Ava ---
**Author:** ![Morrigoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@Morrigoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morrigoon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/22 "2003-07-16T18:40:00Z")
Hmm… maybe I should go on the pill. I’m not getting any anyway, I could use with a little reduction in the ol’ sex drive! ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/23 "2003-07-16T19:00:44Z")
The whole “alternate life changes” is a theory worth considering. I don’t really fit in with that theory, since I _did_ start on the pill out of the blue. I was tired of worrying about condoms. Too bad the damn things made me feel like dying. The only thing wrong with that theory though, is #1. Usually, the reduced sex drive is for a long period of time, most likely the entire course of time on the pill. Life changes don’t normally have that long of an effect. #2. Progesterone is proven to reduce sex drive. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/24 "2003-07-16T19:12:02Z")
It’s interesting that you were able to correlate the pill with a powerful change in your emotions, **lezlers**. For me, by the time my life calmed down a few years later, I’d grown accustomed to my lower sex drive & just thought it was the way I was. I attributed my previous horniness to late adolescent hormones & figured they were gone with the wind. Faulty logic on my part, but it is true that you don’t generally see a lot about female libido effects in popular press. As I recall, _Our Bodies Ourselves_ emphasized the fact that the most likely side effect of discontinuing the pill is, uh, pregnancy. But then they were coming at the issue from a different angle, based out of the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/25 "2003-07-16T19:15:23Z")
I have been on Alesse for one year now. It does get rid of the sex drive and I am quite happy about that. (because I won’t have sex unless I am married) I have been celibate for 9 years. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/26 "2003-07-16T19:42:32Z")
No change in my emotions **fessie** , only my sex drive and physical side effects, which were expected, I just didn’t think they’d be as bad as they were, resulting in my being unable to continue taking the pill. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/27 "2003-07-16T19:57:01Z")
I don’t even remember my sex drive. I remember on an intellectual level that there was once a time when sex didn’t seem like a really stupid passtime… but it was so many years ago that I can’t actually recall the sensation of being horny. This is from SSRI medication, however, and not BCPs. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/28 "2003-07-16T20:03:42Z")
The patch has the same stuff as most of the pills…including the progesterone that kills your sex drive. It took me 3 years to figure out why I was not that interested in sex because it’s hard to bring up to your doctor and it really isn’t that well known…until now I hope. Also, the steady level pills are supposed to be the worst and the cyclical slightly better. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/29 "2003-07-16T20:16:30Z")
Damn! My SO has a 2 year supply of the pill that I got for her for free. (Friendly OBGYN hookup). Now I have to wait for it to run out before I can try and convince her to go on "the horny patch"tm. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/30 "2003-07-16T20:38:27Z")
Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Now hang on just a cotton-pickin’ minute! I **did** read the package insert that came with my Pill when I was on it. I read the damn thing every month. I took the same Pill for ten years (although I did switch “brands,” from the major manufacturer to the generic version). And I **always** read the package insert. (What can I say - I am a bit anal.) _ **And I NEVER saw ANYTHING that said that use of the product would cause a decrease in my sex drive.** _ I have been off the Pill for several months now, since we are trying to get pregnant (Og save us all). Maybe they started including the reduced-libido wording since I stopped in November. But when I was on the Pill I mentioned the side effects to my doctor and all he did was stop my anti-depressant meds. He said my continued “lack of desire” was all in my head. Bastard! Next thing you know, they’ll try to say that the P.M.S. is all in my head … ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/31 "2003-07-16T21:19:03Z")
I’m not registered with the Tribune, so I couldn’t see that article. But I’m curious as to how they determined that. Frankly, I wonder how much the placebo effect is causing this. Especially if women hear from a source that going on the Pill will decrease their sex drive, or cause them to gain weight. I’ve only been on it (Mircette) for ~ 9 months, and I haven’t noticed either of those effects. My skin hasn’t cleared up either, but Mircette doesn’t advertise that as a side-effect, anyway. Oh, one possible idea–since progesterone does effect vaginal secretions, it could be that it takes women longer to become fully lubricated. If they’re having dry sex, the increased discomfort of sex could cause a decreased sex drive. But IANAD, and YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/32 "2003-07-16T21:38:05Z")
Yeah, there are _lots_ of medications that may affect your sex drive. Like **Opal** mentioned, SSRIs can do the job. (Haven’t taken those myself; I’m just surrounded by those who have.) So will the alpha-blockers that are the standard treatment for an enlarged prostate. (Been through all four of them: two of them boosted my libido, one of them made it do a vanishing act, and I wasn’t on the fourth long enough to tell, but that’s another story.) ---
**Author:** ![October](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@October](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/October)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/33 "2003-07-16T21:50:49Z")
Possible side effects of (insert medication name): vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, dry mouth, stomach pains, muscle soreness, brain cancer, bleeding from the eyes, and DEATH!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! I think drug companies try to cover all their bases and list every side effect they can think of. I have a friend whose father is a pharmacist, and used to do drug testing where they give some people the medication to be tested, and some people placebos, and have them report side effects. He got the same number of complaints about side effects from the people on the placebos as he did from the people on the actual medication. I, also, have read the insert in my pill package (though I don’t read it every month, like rockle), and it says NOTHING about decreased sex drive. But then, I have not experienced decreased sex drive. My question is, does anyone know about the Pill’s effect on \ ability to orgasm? ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/34 "2003-07-16T22:27:35Z")
I can’t believe there was a study on this. All they had to do was come to my house sometime within the past 10 months or so. ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/35 "2003-07-16T22:41:30Z")
Well, I admit my roomate in college was executive director of a sex ed organization, so I may have had a bit more knowledge about this kind of stuff than a lot of other people. For me, the fact that progesterone reduces sex drive was as well known as Viagra keeping a guy hard. Didn’t mean to come across in a condesending or know it all kind of way. Sorry if I did, that wasn’t my intent. I spoke with my gyno about it before I went on the pill and asked her for the pill with the lowest amount of progesterone, due to my fear of decreased libido as well as weight gain (I struggle with my weight constantly anyway, I didn’t need the cards to be stacked any more against me than necessary) unfortunately, my body wasn’t havin’ it. **rockle** , you need to get a new gyno. While it’s true that anti-depressents lower your libido as well, any doctor that tells you anything is “all in your head” is a doctor you don’t need to be seeing again! ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/36 "2003-07-16T23:36:43Z")
**October** : I can tell you from personal experience that, ahem, “happy endings” are _different_ post-Pill, if not necessarily easier to come by (no pun intended, I _swear_). Since I’m basically a raving hyperactive wad of horniness now, I seem to enjoy them more. Although, that could also be because we are TRYING for a baby. Not really sure about that one. And **lezlers** - it wasn’t my gyno, it was my regular doc. Who is normally right on about most things, so you can imagine why I didn’t really question his “findings” (I also tend to be a hypochondriac sometimes and “decreased libido” is a pretty vague symptom). Oh, and by the way … [hijack] **WEASEL!!** [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/37 "2003-07-16T23:42:48Z")
tee hee! 😃 I’m touched! ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/38 "2003-07-17T00:48:59Z")
Please, **please** pay attention to the side effects of any medication, including birth control. My best friend died from a blood clot, a direct result of taking birth control, and she had a previous blood clot (and a family propensity towards them). It was preventable. Don’t let that be you. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/39 "2003-07-17T01:06:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GingerOfTheNorth \* > \*\*I can’t believe there was a study on this. All they had to do was come to my house sometime within the past 10 months or so. \*\* No _wonder_ Dave’s been so grumpy!! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871/40 "2003-07-17T03:22:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ferret Herder \* > \*\*I read the article as well, and my first thought about the phone call to the doctor that was required to discover that reduced sex drive might be a side effect was, “What, she’s never read the package insert?” > \*\* It’s been a long time since I’ve needed birth control pills, but if I remember right the side effects section says “sexual side effects”. Oh. Yeah. THAT tells you a lot!!! Now, again that was about 15 years ago, so maybe things have changed since then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-pill-reduces-womens-sex-drive-but-its-okay-we-didnt-need-one-anyway/188871.md?page=3)